README.txt: A Memoir

In 2010, Manning, then an intelligence analyst in the U.S. military, made headlines when she leaked over 700,000 classified U.S. military and diplomatic records via WikiLeaks. She continued to make headlines as she was held in solitary confinement before trial, when she came out as a transgender woman following her conviction, and as the public rallied for her to be pardoned. Manning also fought to become the first person to receive health care related to gender transition while in military prison. Narrated by the author, this memoir begins from Manning’s difficult childhood, growing up gay in Oklahoma, and what it meant for her to exist as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community in the military under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—from boot camp to Iraq. Throughout her life’s story, listeners also hear about Manning’s journey to understand herself as a woman. In both content and narration, Manning displays a keen ability to imbue this detailed account of her life and activism with both sarcasm and sincerity.